The Bid (29 page)

“Young man, can you tell us who did this to you? Can you tell us what happened here?” one of the Masters was asking one of the male children. Jhon stopped and turned, looking at how the boy cowered away from anyone trying to touch him. He hesitated, knowing by the look of the place what the children must have seen. He could only hope that if the child started ranting about a woman who could become a bellcat, they would put it down to the ravings of a damaged and fragile mind.

But the boy did speak up.

“The man came in with the firewolf. It attacked her.”

And that was all. He wasn’t willing to say more, and probably wouldn’t for some time…if ever. But his gesture had been clear even before his dark, haunted eyes looked up to unsteadily look at Jhon’s.

They would keep her secret.

H
anna’s eyes fluttered open, her lashes sticking together at first. Long enough for her to realize her mouth was equally gluey and she was very thirsty. Then, she felt two large hands swallow the whole of her face between them and, as if pouring water on a desert, a wondrous sensation of lips pressing to hers. She’d know those lips anywhere, and those hands as well. She unstuck her lashes by opening her eyes wide and then cringed when the light seemed suddenly too bright.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Jhon soothed her softly when she tried to move. It was a good thing, too. Just gearing up to make movement had tensed her muscles enough to send alarming pain rocketing up and down her body. Her entire torso lit up as if it were on fire and she groaned against his mouth.

“Jhon, w-what—?”

“Easy. You’re home and both you and Asha are safe.”

Her eyes widened at the mention of Asha’s name. Instantly she tried to sit up, but he was having none of that and blocked her with the low bridge of his body over hers.

“Asha?” She looked around her bed to see if her sister was there.

“She’s been here for two days, right by your side, waiting for you to wake up,” he told her just as her eyes fell on her sister, who lay curled up in bed beside her, fast asleep. She had both of her hands clasped around one of Hanna’s, and the purplish coloring under her eyes spoke of the truth in Jhon’s words. She had not had much in the way of rest recently. Her young face looked strained in a way Hanna had never seen before. She wore no makeup, her hair was left to simply fall where it would, and she wore such a plain little dress that Hanna hardly recognized her. She looked younger than usual, and vulnerable in a way she wasn’t used to seeing.

“Did he hurt her?” she blurted out, squeezing her sister’s hand where it rested in hers. “Jhon, did he hurt her?”

“Not that I know of,” he said, gently stroking his fingers over her cheek. “But I am not certain I am the one she would tell.”

“I’m not certain I’m the one she would tell either,” Hanna said, her voice tight with emotion all of a sudden. “To be honest, I know very little about her. It used to be different. We used to be closer. But then…then our parents died.”

“Trauma like that changes people,” he noted, reaching for her free hand so he could bring it up to the press of his lips. “Trauma like this changes people.”

“Then I want her to be just as stubborn and willful as ever. I want there to be no trauma. I want to take it back for her.” She swallowed as tears swam over her eyes, blurring the image of her sister.

“We can’t do that. No more than we can change the damage that was done to you.”

That got her attention and she looked at him. “Is it bad? Am I badly hurt?”

“If you were anyone else, you’d probably be dead, Hanna,” he said, his voice very stark as he did so. “I just thank the gods for those very special genetics of yours. The doctor is completely baffled by you, I’ll have you know. He has no idea how you managed to pull through. Don’t worry,” he assured her as she geared up to say what he knew she was going to ask. “I made certain I was with you every moment. No one saw anything about you that you wouldn’t want them to see. They stitched you up right here in the house and I made a big stink about being the only one to take care of you. To bathe away the blood on you. To change the bandages. With Asha’s help, they had to listen.”

“Thank you,” she breathed. “But did the children say anything? Oh Jhon, are they all right? I saw them locked away down there and all I could think about was that someone was probably as worried sick for them as I was for Ashanna.”

“Someone was. That someone was one of your guards. He tried to kill Najir and myself as a way of getting them back.” She gasped and immediately tried to look him over, to check him for injury. “No, no. Not me,” he said softly.

Her eyes shot up to his and he saw them widen with fear. She bit her bottom lip so hard she was sure to puncture it. He knew what she would ask him, if she could only find the courage to do so, so he took the initiative for her.

“He’s badly injured. He was shot. And unlike you and I, he doesn’t have the benefit of an advanced immune system. An infection has set in. His fever has been pretty high and the doctors are worried. But,” he tendered, “they do not know Najir like you and I do. He is far too strong and much too loyal to you to simply let you go so easily.”

“Oh Jhon. If he dies it will be all my—”

“All Majum’s fault,” he interjected. “Do not take responsibility for the acts of that madman. I won’t have it, Hanna.”

“Jhon, Majum was like me,” she said. But she hastily corrected herself when she saw the glare he gave her. “I mean, he was from the Otherside. One of the other breeds. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. And that means his whole family is from the Otherside. Kell…all his cousins and more. They are the firewolf. It’s a fierce fighter, a pack animal. Very different from the bellcat.”

“And yet very much the same,” Jhon noted. “It makes me wonder if there are other families who were able to survive the Apocalypse who could travel to the Otherside.”

“Believe me, it is shocking that even one has survived this long, and highly improbable that there are two. I do not have those types of illusions.”

“Perhaps it is at the root of this feud between your families,” Jhon speculated. “You said yourself that you don’t know what started it all. It seems to me that the lupine and the feline would be very natural enemies.”

“More than you know. In the wild they prey on one another. You are not at all wrong about the possibility.” Hanna pushed him back a little so she could feel the bandages wrapped around her chest and belly. “The scars may fade,” she said hesitantly, peeking up at him through her lashes.

“Don’t make me turn you over my knee,” he warned her darkly.

“I only meant—”

“I know what you meant. You think it will matter to me if all this perfection suddenly has a blemish or two?” He indicated down the length of her body. “Do you really think I am so shallow a man?”

“No. No, not at all. Maybe I’m just that shallow a woman. I’m sorry,” she said sincerely, reaching to stroke her finger over his stubbly chin and jaw. “I say such stupid things sometimes. You’d never know I am a great public speaker.”

“This isn’t public,” he relented, “and you’ve been through a great deal. I am very inclined to forgive you.”

“Well, thank you.” Her small smile faded. “I should get up and see Najir. Are you certain he will be all right?”

“I said he would be, didn’t I?” The look that stole over him was pure suspicion. “Why are you so hot to see Najir?”

“Because he is my friend and a loyal companion, that’s why. Jhon, don’t be this way. You know it’s you that I…that I care about the most.”

“Is that true or are you just saying it to appease me?” He sounded almost petulant.

“Jhon! Of course it’s true! Don’t you know what it did to me to hear that you were dead? It tore me up inside! I went crazy! Jhon, I love you. More than anything, except my family. I went to pieces when I thought he had hurt y—”

She was cut off by a strong and fervent kiss. He ate at her mouth like a starving man, trying hard not to crush her in his passion. He couldn’t help himself. Hearing her say those words meant as much to him as hearing she was going to survive her ordeal. He was projecting very tellingly with his sudden actions, so she laughed and told him again.

“I love you, Jhon. Not just because you came from the right place and looked the right way. I just can’t help myself. You’re so strong and stubborn and you have such a righteous soul. You make me so much better than I was before. I hope you know that.”

“I know it well,” he replied hotly as he kissed her again. “I know it because I feel the same way. I love more about you than just the fact that I depend on you to show me around this world of being the bellcat. Your caution and the way you care about this family, the way you take on all of the PAN to see your ideas and what is right come to fruition. You’d risk everything for anyone, family or no, just because you know it is the right thing to do. I love you because you make me crazy!”

She laughed at that, trying not to cry and failing miserably. The sobs made her side ache, but she wasn’t about to complain. She was in between the huge, loving hands of a man who loved her. A true mate. No longer just a convenient one. Now she would know what it had been like for her parents. For her uncle and his mate. Now she would know what it felt like to have a perfectly reciprocal love.

“Can I ask you something?” Jhon said, clearly reading her thought. “Why is it you and Najir never…why me and not him? Not that I am wishing it be any other way, but…why wasn’t he good enough?”

“Didn’t I tell you? They had doctored his eyes at the auction. Once I realized they weren’t really bellcat green, I was afraid to try to bring him over to the Otherside. I was afraid to do even the littlest thing different.”

“But he loves you, Hanna. What kept you from him for ten years? What is so different about us?”

“I wish I could tell you. Even if he had been right, had the right eyes…I would love him, I would be his mate but it wouldn’t feel like this. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you would never have accepted your fate as a slave. Maybe the fact that you would always fight rather than be so easily won over. Maybe that is what I needed to love you.” She sighed. “Najir is a good man. A strong man. But he’s not the one for me. Perhaps one day he will find what we have found with each other. But it will never be with me.”

“You’re damn right it won’t be with you,” he said fiercely.

“No. There will never be anyone for me but you. And I am going to prove it to you.”

“H
anna, you shouldn’t be doing this. You should be at home and resting. It’s too soon,” Asha fretted as she stood on one side of her sister. Jhon stood on the other, and together they were helping her to ascend the long flight of stairs leading up to the Chamber of Masters. It frustrated Asha that she couldn’t get her sister to see reason. It had only been three days since Hanna had woken up from her ordeal. The power of the bellcat at her command or not, it did her no good at all to be climbing all those stairs and then spending the day arguing with a bunch of politicians.

“You know, I think I liked it better when you didn’t give a damn what happened to me,” Hanna joked. “Stop mothering me. I’ll be fine.”

But the remark made Asha draw to a halt, making Hanna stop and look at her questioningly.

“I always gave a damn,” she said with a very deep frown. “I know I didn’t show it, but I do care what happens to you. I always have. You’re more important to me than I led you to believe. I’m sorry you think so poorly of me.”

“I don’t think poorly of you at all. I think you are young with a great deal of ambition, and that you felt overshadowed by your elder sister.” At Asha’s look of surprise she said, “You see. I do know you better than you think I do. For instance, I know that you have been working very hard at saving enough money to do something. Perhaps leave the planet?”

“Hanna! How do you know that?” she gasped in shock.

It said something for the change in their relationship that Asha didn’t spin off into a long chain of denials. It made Hanna smile, as did the gape-mouthed surprise of her sister. “Darling, you are saving money in the very same banks that I use. Though you suppose them to be beholden to your privacy, you forget that they work on the principle of earning money. And since our House is one of the richest in this city, it was only a matter of time before it came to my attention in one form or another. As for where you are trying to go, it was the only thing that made sense. I have a great deal of power and prestige here. The only way to get out from underneath that is to leave it all behind.

“It’s a daring and brave choice,” she continued. “Am I happy about it? No. It’s dangerous out there and you have a secret that needs to be kept. I don’t want my sister in danger. I don’t want our secret in danger. But,” she said when she saw the deep and obstinate frown that began to crease her sister’s features, “I also understand your motivations and I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. I know that you know just how important it is to keep this secret of ours. I also know that you are long since an adult with the right to make her own choices in things like this.”

The surprise on Asha’s face was clear. The last thing she had ever expected was that Hanna would actually approve of this venture she wanted to go on.

“Why wouldn’t I endorse it?” Hanna asked. “It’s no different than our brother wanting to go off on a voyage of discovery. He chose to remain on this planet, but it’s still a dangerous expedition. I wouldn’t think of hindering you any more or less than I tried to hinder him. In the end I realize it must be your choice. That I must give you my trust.”

Asha honestly could not believe her ears, but at the same time she didn’t know why she was so surprised. There was a reason Hanna was the head of their House, and it had very little to do with being the eldest. Hanna, she realized, was made to manage all the ins and outs of such a large and complex family. All of these years Asha had fought to compete with her sister, but the fact was, Hanna was in a league of her own. There was no way to compete. They were both cut too differently and meant to excel in different ways. Asha would prove that one day. One day soon.

“So you’re saying I can leave? You won’t oppose me?”

Hanna smiled and urged her forward toward the stairs again. They began to climb once more. “No. And what’s more I will give you access to the remainder of the money that you need so you can do so right away if you wish.”

Asha was stunned and didn’t know what to say other than, “Thank you.”

They finished the journey to the top of the COM in silence. Jhon and Asha brought her inside, all of them ignoring the murmers and glances of surprise and speculation. Obviously, everyone in the Chamber of Masters was privy to the dangers Hanna had faced at the Baron’s hands, and they were all curious as to how she was faring. Most of all, though, they were curious as to why she was there. She had made a point of securing the podium for a speech. They wondered what it was she had to say.

They sat down, waiting through the preliminaries that were always done before the session was opened to the floor, and then at Master Fusut’s nod, Jhon got up and helped Hanna to the lectern. Once she had her hands on the marble of it and could steady herself, he stepped back…yet he made certain he was no more than a single stride away from her. He wanted to be there to support her if she needed it in the matter of a second.

“My fellow Masters of the Chamber. My fellow Masters of the High Houses,” she began. “I will keep this direct and brief since I know I will grow tired quickly and you, no doubt, will grow tired of listening to me.” This earned her a ripple of chuckles, and Jhon smiled at her back. “You all know the ordeal my family has been made to face recently. Let me assure you that, while it has only driven this point home to me, I have long since had this issue on my mind. My friends, I am here to announce to you today that I have every intention of seeing slavery abolished on this planet. And”—she raised her voice at the immediate clamor that arose—“that I am going to start by setting much more of an example than I have been to date. You see, I thought it was enough to avoid auctions and to employ, for the most part, only free men and women in my household.

“But it was not enough. It was half measures, and lackadaisical ones at that. Well, my friends, I am not a lackadaisical woman. I do nothing in half measure. I intend to make these changes, to argue with you stubbornly until I have wrestled you to the ground and have made you see the errors of our ways. I intend to do that by setting the example. As of today, I am setting free all the slaves of my household.”

The uproar was unbelievable. Most of it was, obviously, against her. Slaves were a matter of fear in their society. The citizens feared their own infertility. Feared not being able to bring new generations into their world. If slavery was abolished, how would they ever be able to defeat that fear?

Hanna had the answer to that.

“Instead of using slaves to assure our future generations, instead of perpetuating this cruel demeaning bondage, I suggest to you that we try a different method. One that may, in the end, be less costly to us, both financially and as a society. I suggest we lure free men and women here with bounties and rewards. That we pay for the surrogates we need—not forcefully, but freely. We ask their permission. We coax them to us. It will open the borders of our world to a massive influx of off-worlders, adding much needed and much varied DNA to our gene pool, and, just as important, an influx of economic opportunities. Instead of the single costly trade of slaves, we will open this world to trade, tourism, and more. People seeking these bounties will need places to stay, food to eat, and more of the luxuries that our businesses can provide.”

The room went suddenly quiet. Jhon had not known she was going to do this today. He had not known she had thought it through so thoroughly. He had not realized, until then, what a truly powerful politician she was. He was so stunned and so damn proud of her that he could barely keep in one place. He realized that by solving all the issues the PAN may take against her, she had pre-empted their arguments. And, by solving their problems, she had also solved her own. Opening this world up to a massive influx of fortune seekers would open her family up to the possibility of future mates. Instead of waiting for just the right slave to come along every few years, now they could go directly to the source planet and advertise for the men and women they might need.

It was brilliant.

But he made no mistake about it; this was only the beginning of a long battle. It would take more than a single speech to convince those who were not only inured in their ways, but were afraid of what it might mean to let go of them.

“I realize that it will take an act of this body to actually be able to free slaves,” she said, “since it has never been done before. But I am here today to begin by asking you to vote on the right of each household to independently set free whatever slaves they wish to. These precious men and women who have given us our children, defended our needs and”—she turned to indicate Jhon—“saved our very lives must be allowed to be recognized. They must be allowed to walk our world as free beings if we, the heads of those households, deem they should do so. They can then enjoy all of the same rights as any natural member of this society. Please. I beg of you to hold a vote today that will see these rights be put into power, for I know I am not the only one who has this much gratitude toward a bound person that they wish to give them the rights they deserve in return. Start with this one step, and then we will discuss the rest.”

Jhon saw her bend forward and knew she’d had all she could take. He stepped up to support her and, unable to help himself in his joy and pride, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.

“No. Thank you, Jhon. They will vote with me today, I think,” she said softly, “and you will soon be free to come and go as you like.” She looked up into his eyes. “You could leave me and this world if you liked.”

“I could,” he agreed. “But having the choice to do as I please in that matter was all I ever wanted. The actual leaving, however, will never happen. I will never leave you, and you are never allowed to leave me.”

“Now you see,” she murmured with a smile as she leaned into him. “You have been mistaken, Jhon. You are not the slave here. It is I who has a chained heart and soul. I am yours and always will be.”

“Isn’t it funny?” he asked. “For all this tying together and chaining of souls, I will never feel freer than I do in this moment.”

She smiled at him and, in front of the entire Chamber, she stood up on her toes and touched her mouth to his. Let them know what her true motivations were. Let them know she loved him.

It would let them know that she would not rest until she had her way.